Kuo-toa

Kuo-toa

Kuo-toa depicted in the original Fiend Folio.
Characteristics
Type Monstrous humanoid
Image Wizards.com image

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the kuo-toa are fish-like monstrous humanoids that dwell in the Underdark, and in the sea.

Publication history

The name "kuo-toa" was created by Gary Gygax, co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. In their original appearance, kuo-toa are described as having once lived on land, but were driven underground by humans and other land-dwellers. However, their presentation has evolved to be more similar to the Deep Ones, creatures that appear in H. P. Lovecraft's novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". For example, the kuo-toa were first described as worshiping a lobster-headed sea goddess named Blibdoolpoolp; later versions have them worshiping a being called Dagon, a being that is also associated with the Deep Ones.

The kuo-toa are considered "Product Identity" by Wizards of the Coast and as such are not released under its Open Gaming License.[1]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)

The kuo-toa first appeared in dungeon modules D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa,[2] and D3 Vault of the Drow.[3] The first D&D manual that the kuo-toa appeared in was the original Fiend Folio.[4]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999)

The kuo-toa appears first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (1989),[5] and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[6]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000–2002)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000).[7]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003–2007)

The kuo-toa appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).

The kuo-toa was presented as a player character race for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in Underdark (2003).[8]

The voice of Dagon was detailed in Dragon #349 (November 2006), in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Dagon."

The kuo-toa monitor and the kuo-toa whip appeared in Drow of the Underdark (2007). The crazed kuo-toa, the kuo-toa exalted whip, the kuo-toa harpooner, and the kuo-toa monitor appear in Monster Manual V (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008–)

The kuo-toa appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008).[9]

Description

Kuo-toa have scaly, bipedal bodies with fish-like heads.

Society

Kuo-toa often raid seaside settlements for human victims. Most worship the goddess Blibdoolpoolp, though a few remote tribes worship Dagon.

Kuo-toa in various campaign settings

Kuo-toa in the Forgotten Realms

In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting kuo-toans maintain friendly relations with drow, their Underdark neighbours. Blibdoolpoolp is the focus of the kuo-toans' lives, and even has her own monstrous, deformed kuo-toa breed—the giant kuo-toa leviathan. They have total hatred for the sahuagin, another aquatic race.

In The Sellswords book series, Jarlaxle comments to his drow compatriots that a monk (referring to Grandmaster Kane) fights in the same manner as the kuo-toa, using their body as a weapon.

Kuo-toa in Greyhawk

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, kuo-toa settlements are known to exist in the Underdark, near the Vault of the Drow beneath the Hellfurnaces.

References

  1. "Frequently Asked Questions". D20srd.org. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  2. Gygax, Gary. Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (TSR, 1978)
  3. Gygax, Gary. Vault of the Drow (TSR, 1978).
  4. Turnbull, Don, ed. Fiend Folio (TSR, 1981)
  5. Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume Two (TSR, 1989)
  6. Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
  7. Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
  8. Cordell, Bruce R, Gwendolyn FM Kestrel, and Jeff Quick. Underdark (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
  9. Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)

Additional reading